Clinical Depression and Your Pocketbook

If you suffer from clinical depression, have you ever thought about the effects on your pocketbook? By way of introduction, my name is Dave Kanofsky and I had suffered from the adult symptoms of clinical depression for thirty-five years. In 2007, thanks to a combination of the right medication and years of talk therapy, my symptoms were under complete control but my financial situation/bank accounts were in complete ruins.

Clinical depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, in my case, I was tormented by a continuous feeling of despair. Over the years this feeling would vary by degree from mild to intense depending upon external or situational factors. Nevertheless, the feeling was always there, monopolizing my entire life and inhibiting my ability to make any type of rational decisions.

Just to give you an idea of what that experience was like, when I was in undergraduate and graduate school, I majored in a subject area I did not enjoy but forced myself to go through, not once but twice.. After college, I kept hopping from job to job job. The first several weeks of each job were fine or so I thought. Eventually I would get severely depressed because I really was not happy with the type of job I had applied for in the first place. So I quit, telling myself that the next job would be better. Yeah, right. Never happened.

Since I was in a vicious psychological catch-22, saving money never did exist. They say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Do you notice a pattern here? When my first wife, who was the bread winner, died in 1998, things went from bad to worse. I maxed out my credit cards by borrowing money to live off of since I was too depressed to work. Eventually, I had to declare bankruptcy and went onto disability.

By the grace of God, things began to turn around in 2007. My doctor put me on some medication that was just right for me. Slowly, all the symptoms began to subside. Soon, after years of talk therapy and a handful of different medications, I was completely free, not of depression but of the symptoms. For the first time in over a quarter century I was finally able to make some rational adult decisions for myself. I retired from the industry I "worked" in all those years. My second wife is working and very supportive. Although, I am still on disability, I created a blueprint for myself on how to earn or make money online so I do not have to totally depend on the federal government for assistance. Eventually, I will not have to depend on government assistance at all.

Now it's your turn. I really want to hear from you. People who suffer from clinical depression often feel alone but I can assure you that you are not. What effects have the consequences of clinical depression had on your pocketbook and what if anything have you done or would you like to do about it?

Thanks in advance for sharing and God bless you.